Abstract. Excavations at Sevsk, Bryansk
Region, Russia, by
the Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences in
1988–1991 recovered 3800 bones of woolly mammoth (Mammuthus
primigenius Blum.) representing a minimum of 33 individuals. The
locality is one of the largest naturally occurring deposits of mammoth
remains in Europe and is inferred to be a catastrophic death
assemblage. The material includes five skeletons of juvenile mammoths,
from 1 month to 6 or 7 years of age, as well as partial skeletons and
isolated bones of adult individuals. A femur and humerus of an
approximately 10–12-month-old fetus are also among the finds.
Morphological features suggest that the Sevsk mammoths belonged to one
family group; the age structure and sexual composition of the
assemblage do not differ significantly from that of a family group of
Modern African elephants. In contrast to other localities in Siberia
and central Russia, relatively more (about 45% of individuals)
prepubertal animals are preserved at Sevsk. Radiocarbon dates indicate
that the mammoths died about 14,000 years ago. Data from diatoms,
pollen and rodents, as well as archeological evidence, corroborate this
age, and provide the basis for a paleoenvironmental reconstruction at
the end of the Valdaian Glaciation in western Russia.

Abstract. A single bone fragment of a
Vespertilionine bat was
discovered in the rich Late Turolian (MN12-13) vertebrate fauna of
Morskaya 2 site near Taganrog (Sea of Azov region). This is the first
record of bat remains from Late Miocene deposits of the European
Russia. The morphology of the discovered fossil, represented by
mandibular fragment with two molars, resembles the recent genera Vespertilio
and Eptesicus. Comparative analysis with recent and
fossil species of these two taxa allows us to assign this fossil to Vespertilio
cf. villanyiensis.

Abstract. The Vallesian lower boundary and
“Hipparion-datum”
are estimated as ranging in age from 11.2 to 10.7 Ma in Central to
Western Europe and Western Asia. Judging from complete sections of
Sarmatian marine
sediments in the Tamanskii Peninsula and Transcaucasia with known
paleomagnetic characteristics, the above
dates correspond to the lower upper Sarmatian (Khersonian) of the
Eastern Paratethys, although in Moldova
and Ukraine the earliest hipparion remains are associated with the
middle Sarmatian (Bessarabian) sediments.
The normally magnetized middle Sarmatian deposits in hipparion
localities of Moldova are correlative with an
upper part of Chron C5An (upper boundary 11.9 Ma old) or, less likely,
with Subchron C5r2n (base 11.5 Ma
old). Consequently, the first occurrence of hipparions in southeastern
Europe is recorded in the Middle
Miocene, i.e., 0.7 m.y. (or 0.3 m.y.) earlier than the date of 11.2 Ma
formerly accepted for the Vallesian lower
boundary in Europe. Possible reasons for disagreements in age
determination of the Vallesian base are discussed.

Abstract. The shoreline of the Taganrog
Gulf of the Azov Sea
at the mouth of Don River provides a series of extended Upper Pliocene
and Quaternary sections that have been actively studied in the last
century. This extraglacial region had a complex sedimentary history
combining subaerial aggradation with marine, fluvial, and deltaic
sedimentation. The well-exposed stratigraphical sequence and abundant
palaeontological record continuously attract geologists and highlight
the region as one of international importance for the addressing of
numerous problems of Late Pliocene and Quaternary stratigraphy and
palaeogeography. Fossil mammalian faunas of the region include
important Eurasian biostratigraphical markers such as Stenocranius
ex gr. hintoni-gregaloides, Lagurini
spp., and Mimomys savini.
For many years, fossil remains of mammals provide decisive clues to the
geological history of the region. Recent geological studies of
reference sections have provided data on small mammals, palaeomagnetism
and palaeogeographical reconstructions in the northeastern part of the
Azovian Region. Mammalian assemblages indicate the presence of the Late
Pliocene, late Early Pleistocene, Middle Pleistocene and Late
Pleistocene levels and, in addition, provide a clear biostratigraphical
context for the Early Middle Pleistocene transition.

Abstract. Redeposited loess sediments from
a Pleistocene
crater filling in the Neuwied Basin (western Germany) yielded a small
mammal fauna mainly composed of arvicoline rodents. The occurrence of rare faunal elements
such as Sorex
minutissimus, Sicista subtilis, and a species of Microtus (Terricola)
is remarkable. Based on the evolutionary level of Arvicola terrestris,
the biostratigraphic age of the fossiliferous horizon is transitional
between late Eemian and early Weichselian. This conclusion is partly
supported by the generalized ecological requirements of a few dominant
rodent species. The fauna contributes to the knowledge of this time
period, which is poorly documented in western Germany. A new character
of the m1 is proposed for the discrimination of Sicista betulina
and S. subtilis.
To avoid further confusion in the specific assignment of transitional Arvicola
specimens from the
late Middle Pleistocene to early Late Pleistocene, we propose the
formal taxonomic boundary between chronospecies A. mosbachensis
and A. terrestris
to be shifted from SDQ value 100 to SDQ value 120.

Abstract. Arvicolid-based regional
biostratigraphic zones
were recently proposed for the Quaternary of southern East Europe
(Pevzner et al. 2001, vangengeim et al. 2001). This work has led to a
detailed biostratigraphic zonal scale for the Late Pliocene continental
deposits of southern East Europe (Tesakov 2004). The taxonomic analysis
of vole assemblages from the Northern Black Sea Region, from the Sea of
Azov Region, from Northern Caucasus, from the Volga Region, as well as from the
south Urals granted six (MNR1–6) concurrent range zones (CRZ)
of
arvicolids of four evolutionary lineages: Borsodia – Prolagurus,
Mimomys hajnackensis – M. pliocaenicus, Mimomys hintoni
– M. pusillus, and Pitymimomys
inceptor –
P. pitymyoides.
The Early Pliocene record of the region includes five arvicolid range
zones (RZ) based on the succession of forms in the Promimomys and
Pliomys groups. The successive zones of Pliomys destinatus, Pliomys
kowalskii, Promimomys moldavicus, Promimomys ex gr. antiquus, Promimomys insuliferus
are recognized. In terms of biostratigraphy, zones of our usage
correspond to chronozones of International Stratigraphic Guide (1999)
and to their time equivalents. Evolutionary stages within each lineage
were established mainly on the progressive increase of hypsodonty using
rabeder’s (1981) quantitative indices (HH-index). We explain
how
we defined the boundaries and age of each zone; we also describe their
type and reference localities as well as their faunal content. Boundary
ages were given by combined paleomagnetic and biostratigraphic data, as
well as by molluscan faunas in localities confined to marine deposits.

Abstract. Central Asian mountain voles
Alticola is one of the
least known groups of voles both in evolution and life history. This
genus includes three subgenera Alticola
s.str., Aschizomys and
Platycranius, and belongs to the tribe Clethrionomyini comprising also
red-backed voles Clethrionomys
and oriental voles Eothenomys.
In order
to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships within Alticola and to
examine its position within the tribe, mitochondrial cytochrome b (cyt
b) gene variation was estimated, and the results were compared with
morphological and palaeontological data. Maximum likelihood (ML),
neighbor-joining (NJ), maximum parsimony (MP) and Bayesian phylogenetic
analyses show that the genus Alticola
does not appear to be a
monophyletic group since the representatives of Aschizomys branch
within Clethrionomys,
whereas two other subgenera (Alticola
and
Platycranius)
form a separate monophyletic clade. Flat-headed vole
Alticola (Platycranius) strelzowi is nested
within the nominative
subgenus showing close association with A. (Alticola) semicanus.
Surprisingly, the two species of Aschizomys
do not form a monophyletic
group. The results of the relaxed-clock analysis suggest that the
Alticola
clade splits from the Clethrionomys
stem in early Middle
Pliocene while basal cladogenetic events within Alticola s.str.
dates
back to the late Middle to early Late Pliocene. A scenario of evolution
in Clethrionomyini is put forward implying rapid parallel morphological
changes in different lineages leading to the formation of Alticola-like
biomorphs adapted to mountain and arid petrophilous habitats.

Abstract. Biostratigraphic
hypotheses based on the chronological distribution of Pliocene and
Pleistocene
arvicolid rodents were examined from the Central Great Plains of the
USA,
various basins of southern Spain (Baza, Guadix, Zujar, Jucar), eastern
Europe
and various short sections in Italy. These sequences were compared to
the
European Neogene rodent biochronology in an initial attempt to identify
global
versus regional patterns in arvicolid evolution and dispersal. The
correlated
appearance of various evolutionary stages on a global scale is
astounding,
testifying to rapid dispersal of adaptive dental morphotypes and,
presumably,
behaviors and reproductive strategies. One of the most
coordinated/synchronous
events of the middle latitudes in Old and New World arvicolid record is
the
decline and extinction of many lineages of voles with molar roots
during the
Late Pliocene, and the subsequent nearly synchronous appearance of Microtus
throughout the Horactic realm. Nevertheless, it is likely that the Microtus immigration event occurred
later in Spain than elsewhere, testifying to the filtering effect of
the
Pyrenees Mountains. Borsodia is
more
common in steppe belt of western Asia and eastern Europe and only
occasionally
occurs in Western Europe. Pliomys
appears in the south of Europe in Late Early Pliocene but its
subsequent
evolution occurs in Western Europe. The Pliophenacomyinae is an endemic
North
American group. The systematics of early Ogmodontomys,
Ophiomys and Mimomys
needs to be reviewed; some of these taxa may be better
viewed as slightly advanced Promimomys
related to P. antiquus Zazhigin.